Association between breastfeeding and new mothers' sleep: a unique Australian time use study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Infant sleep is of great interest to new parents. There is ongoing debate about whether infants fed with breastmilk substitutes sleep longer than those exclusively or partially breastfed, but what does this mean for the mother? What expectations are realistic for mothers desiring to exclusively breastfeed as recommended by health authorities? There are both biological and social influences on infant and maternal sleep. More accurate information on average maternal sleep hours for diverse feeding practices may help guide realistic expectations and better outcomes for mothers, infants and families.

Methods

Using a unique time use dataset purposefully designed to study the time use of new mothers, this study investigated whether the weekly duration of maternal sleep,

SUBMITTER: Smith JP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7788894 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature